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Trump Was ‘Basically Screaming’ Amid His Defense Lawyer’s Rambling Opening Arguments, Reports Claim

© AP Photo / Susan WalshIn this Friday, Nov. 20, 2020, file photo, President Donald Trump listens during an event in the briefing room of the White House in Washington.
In this Friday, Nov. 20, 2020, file photo, President Donald Trump listens during an event in the briefing room of the White House in Washington. - Sputnik International, 1920, 10.02.2021
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A second impeachment trial against former US President Donald Trump kicked off on Tuesday, as Senate lawmakers declared that the trial is constitutional and both sides offered opening arguments. Already impeached in the House, the Senate trial will determine whether Trump is guilty of inciting an insurrection in the deadly 6 January Capitol riot.

Newly-surfaced reports suggest Trump is extremely unhappy as Bruce Castor, one of his defense lawyers, made a rambling opening argument on Tuesday that failed to deliver the nuts and bolts of the defense’s case.

His thoughts wandering, Castor went from giving a story about a record player to making a cautionary tale about ancient Greece and Rome while admitting that Americans are “fed up” with Trump since they replaced him with US President Joe Biden. For added measure, Castor dared the US Department of Justice to arrest Trump, among other anecdotes voiced by the lawyer.

Citing two sources familiar with Trump’s reaction, Kaitlin Collins, who serves as CNN’s chief White House correspondent, revealed the former US leader was fuming and “basically screaming” moments after Castor took to the Senate floor.

Collins further noted that the trial unfolded as some on the Trump team expected it would, in light of last-minute changes to the former president’s defense line-up, according to one of the sources.

© REUTERS / U.S. Senate TV via ReutersAttorney Bruce Castor, representing and defending former President Donald Trump, addresses the U.S. Senate as it begins the second impeachment trial of former president, on charges of inciting the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol, on the floor of the Senate chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., February 9, 2021
Trump Was ‘Basically Screaming’ Amid His Defense Lawyer’s Rambling Opening Arguments, Reports Claim - Sputnik International, 1920, 10.02.2021
Attorney Bruce Castor, representing and defending former President Donald Trump, addresses the U.S. Senate as it begins the second impeachment trial of former president, on charges of inciting the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol, on the floor of the Senate chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., February 9, 2021
Similar indications of a frustrated Trump were also highlighted by Politico, which reported that he was particularly upset with the “sharp contrast” between his defense team’s dry reaction and that of the prosecution’s emotionally-driven opening argument.

One individual reiterated to Politico that Trump “was not happy with the performance of his legal team in action,” as he watched the legal proceedings on Newsmax from his Mar-a-Lago private club.

Newsmax coverage of the day’s events was reported to have momentarily cut away from the trial to get a reaction from a former Trump impeachment lawyer, Alan Dershowitz, who acted as if he was flabbergasted by Castor’s opening statements.

“There is no argument. I have no idea what he’s doing. I have no idea why he’s saying what he’s saying,” a purportedly stunned Dershowitz remarked, before adding that Castor’s argument “does not appear to be effective advocacy.”

It is unclear whether Trump watched the coverage that caused Dershowitz to make his feelings known about Castor’s meandering arguments. 

Initial plans dictated that fellow Trump attorney David Schoen would kick off the opening arguments; however, Castor was strategically picked to front the argument in an effort to lower the “temperature from the Democrats’ emotionally charged opening argument,” one aide explained to Politico.

Castor acknowledged the switch during his time on the floor.

Beginning Wednesday, the trial will provide each side with up to 16 hours' worth of arguments over a period of two days.

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